basic principles of the constitution
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION
Representative government:
Selection of representatives in "free" and scheduled elections
Governing with the consent of the governed
Federalism:
power-sharing between national, state and local government
Historical pattern of increasing the powers of the national government at the expense of local autonomy
Supreme Court's role in ongoing debate over federalism:
Early cases—McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Selective Incorportation (14th Amendment)
Substantive due process
Three kinds of powers at the national level:
Expressed powers—enumerated (listed) in the Constitution
Implied powers—suggested powers from those enumerated
Inherent powers—foreign policy, protection of sovereignty
Reasons for the growth of the national government's power:
National scope of many problems
Dependency of the states on federal funds
Unequal distribution of wealth within the states
Inability of states to deal politically with some problems
Statements of "power" to the national government in the Constitution:
General welfare clause
Commerce power
Defense of the nation
Necessary and proper clause ("elastic clause")
Congressional power to admit new states—Northwest Ordinance (1787)
Denial of powers to the national government in the Tenth Amendment (1791):
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
No power to destroy the federal system (McCulloch v. Maryland (1819))
Duties of the national government to the states:
Guarantee of territorial integrity of the states (related to interstate commerce—river dams, environmental law—downstream pollution, acid rain and so on)
Guarantee of a republican form of government
Protection of each state against invasion (attack on one an attack on all)
Protection against domestic violence within a state (most often in
Representative government:
Selection of representatives in "free" and scheduled elections
Governing with the consent of the governed
Federalism:
power-sharing between national, state and local government
Historical pattern of increasing the powers of the national government at the expense of local autonomy
Supreme Court's role in ongoing debate over federalism:
Early cases—McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Selective Incorportation (14th Amendment)
Substantive due process
Three kinds of powers at the national level:
Expressed powers—enumerated (listed) in the Constitution
Implied powers—suggested powers from those enumerated
Inherent powers—foreign policy, protection of sovereignty
Reasons for the growth of the national government's power:
National scope of many problems
Dependency of the states on federal funds
Unequal distribution of wealth within the states
Inability of states to deal politically with some problems
Statements of "power" to the national government in the Constitution:
General welfare clause
Commerce power
Defense of the nation
Necessary and proper clause ("elastic clause")
Congressional power to admit new states—Northwest Ordinance (1787)
Denial of powers to the national government in the Tenth Amendment (1791):
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
No power to destroy the federal system (McCulloch v. Maryland (1819))
Duties of the national government to the states:
Guarantee of territorial integrity of the states (related to interstate commerce—river dams, environmental law—downstream pollution, acid rain and so on)
Guarantee of a republican form of government
Protection of each state against invasion (attack on one an attack on all)
Protection against domestic violence within a state (most often in